February, 2014
Good Work If You Can Get It
Stephanie Winton sure will be having a very merry Christmas this holiday season. The onetime wunderkind in the Red Sox bullpen will be closing ballgames in Arlington this year after signing a whopping $18 million deal with the Texas Rangers. Winton has been inconsistent with Boston, showing flashes of brilliance but at other times unable to even throw strikes. It'll be interesting to see how the 32 year old fares in a new city. The Chicago White Sox made a big splash on day one of unfettered free agency, acquiring some big name arms to join young ace Eiji Sawamura in the windy city. Payne plopped down stacks of bills to sign former Milwaukee ace Paxton Crawford and former Red Sox closer Brad Baker, to $20.2 million and $16 million deals respectively. The interesting thing to note about the White Sox strategy is that while like the Winton deal these are both one year contracts, unlike the Rangers contract, these are both non guaranteed contracts, making them eligible for Rule 2 extensions next season. It'll be interesting to see if this strategy pays off for Chicago. In other news, the Florida Marlins won a spiritied bidding contest to sign (3b) Wade Boggs to a multiyear contract at $7 million per season. Boggs was once again an on base machine in 2013, getting onbase at a .426 clip, giving him a .455 career OBP. He'll be a nice addition to a Marlins lineup looking to bounce back from another Jekyl and Hide performance last season. 
